During encapsulation of an electronic component, without proper support, semiconductor chips tend to tilt. A tilted semiconductor chip ends up with a layer of encapsulation compound over one side of the semiconductor chip that is thicker than the layer at the other side of the semiconductor chip. This uneven distribution of encapsulation compound results in a degraded moisture resistance, crack resistance, and thermal conductivity of the encapsulated package. A method is known for molding a semiconductor chip wherein one or more support pins are placed in or removed from the mold cavity. The support pin is in contact with a lead frame assembly to support the lead frame assembly during a mold encapsulation process. The support pin is removed from the mold assembly as the encapsulation compound starts to harden. A disadvantage of the aforementioned method is that the support pin sustains severe wear from being in contact with the molten encapsulation compound. An improved method of encapsulating an electronic component is desired.